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July 27, 2013

Save Ayatollah Boroujerdi

A brave and good man is dying. Ayatollah Hossein
Kazemeini Boroujerdi is incarcerated in Tehran’s infamous Evin prison, as
he has been since 2006. He is routinely tortured, denied medication for
his grave ailments (including heart disease), and under 24-hour surveillance by
officers of the Intelligence Ministry. This sort of treatment is reserved
for Iranians judged to be a serious threat to the tyrannical Iranian regime.

Ayatollah Boroujerdi threatens the regime for two
reasons: he advocates toleration of all religious (and non-religious)
beliefs, and, in keeping with Shi’ite tradition, opposes the involvement of
religious leaders in politics. Years ago, he said “the regime is
adamant that either people adhere to political Islam or be jailed, exiled or
killed. Its behavior is no different from that of Osama bin Laden or Mullah
Omar.”

He has repeatedly criticized the fundamentalist doctrines
of the Iranian theocratic state, and has dramatically spoken about the most
explosive issues in the Muslim world, including anti-semitism. In 2010 he
sent Hanukkah greetings to the Jews of the world, saying “any religious belief
that brings us closer to the Source (God) is the truth. This force will lead
humanity towards enlightenment. On this great day, we celebrate the unity among
the believers of God’s light.”

The regime has not executed him, fearing public
protest. He remains one of the most revered men in Iran. At the
time of his arrest, he operated a hundred telephone lines to assure ongoing
contact with his followers and allies, and his public meetings were so well
attended that he was forced to hold them in a public stadium. The regime
would undoubtedly prefer that he die in prison, so they could claim he
succumbed to medical problems.

According to his family and supporters, Ayatollah
Boroujerdi is indeed in critical condition. In the past, prisoners in
death camps have been treated better if their captors were aware of widespread
attention and concern. Even in the Nazi death camps, inmates slated for
execution did better if they regularly received letters and packages (the Danes
were particularly good at organizing such campaigns), and if their names were
on requests for clemency from foreign governments to the officials of the
Reich.